Seeing Doesn't Require Eyesight
by RyanForestCafe
Summary: Nod and Cody've been together for a while now and they share the same dream. Cody lost her eyesight at the age of 8. Throughout the years, she's been hanging out with Nod, starting new with a new "family". When Tara died, she lost all reason to smile, just like when her biological parents died. Now with Mandrake's stupid threat, she takes part in this journey.


**So... I watched Epic, and yeah this is more like a brother sister relationship.**

**I might be changing up the story, and I feel bad for it now... But I'm dying to write this for my own entertainment now! XD**

**Cody:**

**She lost her eyesight around the same time she lost her father. ****Her mother was killed in a rot raid. ****She has no other living relatives.**

**Nod:**

**His father was killed around the same time Cody's father died. ****His mother disappeared and never came back. ****His other relatives refused to take him in.**

**That's it... XD**

**Brother!Nod and Sister!OC! **

* * *

They'd been friends for as long as they could remember. Since the day they could walk, they'd been friends. One boy and one girl. The girl's name was Cody. The boy's name was Nod.

At the time, Cody could see. She and Nod raced all the time in the woods, they climbed apple trees and most of the time, Cody would pick the apples.

"You think we can ever be leaf-men?" Nod asked Cody. She only shrugged.

"I guess so. But being a leaf-man means you have fight daily and you'll have to deal with watching your comrades die... I'd rather not see that..."

"Well... Close your eyes then." Nod laughed as Cody threw him a glare. Blue and green eyes narrowed at him. "Okay, okay, sorry!" Cody's look softened and she smiled.

"Much better."

**7 years of age **

Cody climbed another tree all alone. Nod was somewhere else. She knew he didn't just have one friend so she didn't mind that there were some days that he wasn't there... Well... It seemed like she didn't mind. She always acted like she didn't care that he left her alone sometimes.

"Hey, you okay?" A voice asked from below. It was Nod.

"I'm fine. Aren't busy with your other friends?" Cody asked trying her best not to sound bitter at all.

"No, they ditched me. They thought it was funny to ditch me..." Nod replied.

"I see... Well I wouldn't consider them friends if they're gonna be jerks and ditch you."

"Why would you say that?"

"I'm just saying. I wouldn't consider them friends because they're jerks."

"Cody, I've been friends with them for a year. Be supportive."

"I am. I'm staying out of your way. Isn't that supportive enough?" Cody asked not moving from her spot.

"That's not exactly what I meant but-"

"Just go look for them and tell them that if they don't stop being jerks, I'll go over to them and beat their faces in the water. Let's see how highly they think of themselves now."

Nod rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to do that, you know."

"Aren't they your friends? Friends don't ditch each other. If they ditch you, they aren't friends," Cody pointed out. "Like you and me. We're friends. We don't ditch each other. They ditch you, they aren't real friends."

**8 Years of age...**

"Hey... You okay?" Cody sat under a tree and blankly stared at the ground... If there was actually anything to stare at... "Cody, come on, you can talk to me." Her best friend, Nod, tried to get her to talk. Cody remained quiet.

Nod was only a year older than Cody. He had more connection with her than anyone else. He tried his best to hang out with her when he had the time to. He spent most of his life hanging out with her and not anyone else and that's what annoyed his other friends the most.

"Dad isn't here... He always comes back every week to visit..." Cody mumbled. Nod knew exactly what that meant. Ronin used to be a soldier and he made it out alive, but Cody's dad wasn't too lucky...

"Cody-"

"I want my dad." Cody was only 8. How was Nod supposed to tell her that her father was _**dead**_?

"Cody, you'll see him later, okay?"

"I can't see, Nod, I can't see!" Nod was surprised. "My eyesight's gone, everything's pitch black and it's just scary, okay? I'm blind!"

"Hey, it's okay to be blind. That just means you're cooler!" Cody smiled just a little. "I'll take care of you from now on, okay?"

** 3 years later...**

Nod pushed his little sister off her bed and laughed as she got back up and made an attempt to fall asleep.

"Come on, Cody, we're gonna go visit the leaf-men!"

"I don't find any point in me going if I can't see anything..." Cody mumbled and pulled the covers over her head.

"You're 10, just come on!"

"And you're 11. I don't see the point."

"You don't see anything at all, Cody," Nod pointed out. Cody sighed and shook her head getting up. "You're gonna hit a drawer if you keep walking straight, Cody." Nod helped her do the usual morning routine and got her downstairs.

"You two ready for shopping?" Tara asked. Cody shook her head and poked the table to make sure there was no cereal bowl she might fall in if she fell asleep again.

"I'm tired," Cody mumbled.

"Close your eyes and sleep then," Nod replied.

"Closing my eyes won't do much for me but okay." Cody moved whatever was in front of her away and rested her head against the table.

For five years she hadn't been eating properly. She refused to eat breakfast and lunch, she refused to go out and play, and she refused to make new friends.

"Come on, sweetie you need to eat something," Tara said for what seemed like the millionth time.

"I'm tired and I'm not hungry."

"Skipping out on meals is what makes you less hungry, Cody," Nod mumbled. "And it makes you physically weaker. If you want to be strong like Dad and your dad, then you gotta eat."

Their dreams were just the same. To become leaf-men. Their parents died serving Queen Tara so they would do the same. Though it would be harder for Cody since she could see nothing and depended on her hearing and sense of feeling to guide her. And maybe sometimes she depended on Nod.

"Okay, you want anything to eat for lunch then?"

"Come on, Cody, you wanna be a leaf-man... errr... leaf-WOMAN so you gotta eat something to make you stronger!" Cody tried to glare at Nod but ended up glaring at the box of the thing they call cereal.

"You're looking the wrong way anyways, Cody so you're not really glaring at me," Nod mumbled. "M- I'll just give you some fruits. Apples?"

"Sure." Something cold was put in her hands and Ronin picked them both up. "Why are we gonna visit the leaf-men if we have D- Ronin?"

"You wanna see just one or do you wanna see them all?"

"I wanna see in general." Ronin sighed.

"I know, little leaf-man but there's nothing we can do now." Cody remained silent. Her father always called her that...

_**"My little leaf-man. One day you'll grow up to be like papa you say?" Cody nodded excitedly. When she could still see... **_

_**"I wanna protect the queen just like you!" He laughed and smiled at her. **_

_**"One day, Cody." But as he got up to leave, Cody grabbed his hand and shook her head. **_

_**"I'm scared though..." He kneeled back down and held her hand just like he always did whenever she was scared or sick. **_

_**"Daddy's always here," he told her. "Daddy's always here for you." **_

Cody would've cried, but what's the point? There was nothing she could do for her dead father and even if there was she wouldn't be able to anyways. Avenge him? She wasn't old enough...

"Cody? You okay?" Nod asked.

It took a while to figure out what was going on. Tears spilled. She hardly noticed them.

"I'm fine... Just a memory, that's all." She smiled and closed her eyes even though that did nothing, and fell asleep.

**Time passed...**

"You're doing better now!" Tara said happily.

"I ran into another tree, Tara. That's like the third time today," Cody pointed out, obviously disappointed in herself.

"But it's only three. The first day, it was countless. Then you got better. Soon you'll know your surroundings like you can see."

"She's right, Cody. Your defense is better than I thought, too. Now we-" The whole forest seemed to go quiet and it seemed that no one was there.

**_Crack_**

Cody quickly took out a dagger and threw it at the direction of which the sound came from. Someone dodged it.

"Ronin is this supposed to be a part of training?" She called out. There was no answer. "If you're seriously trying to scare me, then it's not really working!" Someone was approaching her from behind and Cody punched the person.

"Okay. Owowowowowowowowowowowowowowowow..." Cody winced and tried to look down at the fallen person.

"Sorry, Nod..."

"Okay, first of all, you punch _**really**_hard! And second of all, THAT WAS MY NONO AREA!" Cody winced a little more and could hear Ronin and Tara laughing.

"You're gonna need to not use Nod as a dummy for me to punch. You know that right?"

"Yeah, we know."

"It can't be _that _funny!" Nod exclaimed.

"Nah, that was pretty funny." Cody could no longer tell who was talking. But the next speaker, she knew was Tara.

"Alright, you're free to go, Cody. We'll train some more next week." Cody nodded and ran off back to town, surprisingly not hitting another tree.

**One more...**

It was another chase.

It seemed to last forever.

Cody learned to wait and listen to be able to know what would happen next. She knew her surroundings well.

A twig snapped and she looked back, pointing her sword at whoever it was.

"Calm down, it's just me!" Cody lowered her sword and sighed.

"Did I seriously lose them?" She muttered.

"Who'd you lose?"

"Those stupid rotten guys. I hate them, always talking about making the forest die and killing the creatures..." Cody seemed to get angrier by the second.

"Cody-" Another twig snapped and Cody withdrew a dagger and threw it at the place she'd heard the twig snap. There was a tearing sound.

"Who's there?!" Cody snapped, totally ignoring the fact that Nod was there.

"Calm down, it's just Captain," Nod said.

"They got away with taking Tara's life." Cody froze. _What? _"Tara's gone, and we got a new comer. Nod, show her around?"

"Sure. You wanna come along?" Cody shook her head.

"I-I think I'll just stay here..." Cody muttered.

"Right then. This newcomer is...?"

"She's with the other troops. You go ahead, I'll talk to Cody, okay?" Nod hesitated, Cody could tell.

"Look, we already know that Cody-"

"Go on ahead, Nod, I'll stay behind and talk to Ronin, okay?" Cody smiled and Nod stared at her, shock first evident on his face but Cody couldn't see it.

"Fine, I'll see you at home then?"

"Possibly... That's unless I try to go after them myself and die trying to avenge Tara..." Cody scowled, not towards him but to the murderers who'd killed Tara.

"Cody-"

"Just go, Nod. I'll take it from here." It was hard to tell if Cody was broken or angry. It could've been both but if that really happened, she wouldn't listen to them if they ever tried to keep her back.

"Why did you let them kill her?"

"They ambushed us, Cody. I know you heard them at one point, maybe one of them that made you come out here."

"I didn't think that they'd be this smart, Ronin. But you let them _kill _her. You were the one that was supposed to protect Tara!" Cody yelled backing away from him. "They gave you the job to protect her because we all trusted you!" Ronin sighed once more.

"Look Cody, they shot us from midair. Did you really think that I'd know if they shot her from the ground?"

"Should've used yourself as a freaking shield because you got armor and she doesn't..."

"Cody!" Cody stopped talking for a second.

"Do you really expect me to be calm about this? To act like no thing happened?" Cody asked quietly.

"No, I don't, Cody. But-"

"Do you expect me not to be angry about this? I already lost my birth mother, Ronin. My dad was killed just like Tara was, and then 4 years later, Tara gets killed like Dad. I can't just keep reliving the same thing over and over again! Every time they come around I just want to slaughter them all! I just want to cut them open, take their intestines and make them eat it over and over again until I actually feel like cutting their heads into little tiny pieces and then shove it in their stomachs!"

"Cody, you are one little violent girl. And maybe sometime you'll get to do that. But you know what?"

"What?"

"We killed his son. We killed Dagda." Cody didn't smile.

"But that doesn't make Tara alive..." Ronin sighed and put a hand on Cody's shoulder.

"I know that, Cody. If you saw my reaction, you wouldn't feel alone. Everyone's upset. We just need to deal with it for now and take care of the pod Tara gave her powers to, okay?" Cody sighed and nodded. "Good girl. Now let's go catch up to Nod."

"Actually, could I just go home?" Cody asked.

"What, you don't want to meet the new girl?"

"No, I don't really... Just go, I'll catch up with you guys, okay?" Ronin hesitated for a second.

"You know where to go?"

"Not really, but I'll be here, so if I don't come back around sun down, go ahead and come back, I'll either be sleeping or I'll be wandering the forest."

"No, Cody. it's dangerous. Mandrake will know you're out here and he will kill you. Please just come home." It took Cody three seconds to reply.

"Fine, I'll go home,"Cody mumbled. "But... the next time they come to ambush us..."

"I'll let you fight, okay? I'll let you take your anger out on one of them." Cody finally smiled.

"Okay."

* * *

By the time they'd gotten home, Ronin let Cody sit outside while he stated inside to get the fruit ready.

Nod and that new girl weren't exactly far away. Cody stood up and listened for a second. And when she was finally able to pinpoint where the voices were coming from, she decided to go the opposite direction.

"Cody, get back here, it's dangerous." Cody growled and sat back down.

"Where are your parents?" Nod seemed to hesitate. Cody mindlessly picked at the grass and sighed.

"Dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, it's been 9 years, I'm actually used to it now. I got Ronin." They finally reached the house and Cody lied down, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

"And..."

"This is where we live, Mary."

"Katherine..."

"Right... Well this is where we live, me, Ronin, and Cody."

"Who's Cody? Is he your little brother?"

"Nope. SHE's my best friend."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, I know she's got a weird name for a girl but... It doesn't really matter to us." Nod picked up the sleeping Cody and carried her to the door. Katherine swore she was hallucinating but she could see visible tears streaming down Cody's face. "Katherine, open it for me, please?"

"Sure." Katherine turned the knob and pushed on the door, and stared blankly as she saw Ronin cut a bunch of apple slices.

"Apples for dinner?"

"No, apples for Cody. She loves them and what's the best way to help pick up her mood besides apples?" Nod shrugged and set her down on a cotton couch.

"She fell asleep outside so I doubt she'll be able to eat them anyways."

"Why don't you let her rest for a bit and then wake her up when it's actually time to eat?"

"Sure."

"Let Katherine take the guest room, then." Nod... well... nodded and gave Katherine the directions to that guest room Ronin was talking about.

"Just go to the last room at the end of the hall. It's right across an open balcony so it's not really that hard to miss."

"Okay then." She turned and walked up the stairs but looked back at Cody.

* * *

Around the time to eat, Katherine stared blankly at the food in front of her.

"So... were you guys close to that lady?" Ronin froze.

"If you mean Tara, then yeah," Cody replied quietly. "She gave me and Nod a mother when we needed one. She was really nice and Ronin and her were like the parents we lost a long time ago. Then Mandrake killed her and made everyone miserable, especially the forest."

"... A long time ago?"

"Yeah, about 8 years ago... My dad was a leaf-man like Nod and I are now. He was in a battle with Mandrake and his army... They killed him. I don't know how... And then my mother was killed. I remember seeing her horror-struck face, the blood that stained her clothes, and that satisfied smirk on Mandrake's face. That was the last thing I really saw. That was really it. Then something happened at that moment. And I lost my eyesight."

"She was crying under a tree that time, when we were transporting the bodies to the burial. That was the worst day, the worst thing that ever happened in the forest. The most deaths had happened that day," Nod muttered.

"Oh..."

"Tara had found us under the tree that day. We were both under the same tree. I was crying and Nod was trying to comfort me. She gave us a home, a mother, a father, and a reason to smile again." Katherine took the apple slices off her plate and put them on Cody's plate.

"... She made everyone smile," Ronin said.

"So what do you plan to do if you see Mandrake again?" Katherine asked as Cody took an apple and bit in it.

"Probably kill him," Nod muttered and Cody swallowed.

"I'll do more than kill him. It's violent and not for eating time so I'll tell you when we're all done."

"I see..."

* * *

Katherine went up to the room after they finished eating but Nod had asked Cody what she was going to do.

"I'm gonna cut his stomach open, gut out his intestines, cut them into little pieces and then shove them down his throat. I'll keep doing that over and over again until he's asking for death."

"He'd already be dead by the time you're done with him, Cody," Nod pointed out.

"At least he'll be dead," Cody muttered.

"... Okay then... Well you better get some rest. It's been a long day. For the both of us." Cody nodded and walked up to her room.

She hadn't come out of her room the next morning...

Everyone was already downstairs except for Cody.

"Maybe she's still sleeping," Ronin muttered. "Let her sleep, we're off to the library."

"Why?" Nod asked.

"Cause we need to take that pod to Nim Galuu."

"Who the who?"

"Nim Galuu. He records everything that happens around this place. People do pretty stupid things to get their names on the papers but he destroys the records no matter how much they do it." Katherine yelped and hid behind Nod who was chuckling at the fully awake Cody, standing right behind them.

"Let's go to Nim Galuu."

* * *

Nim Galuu was singing some random song. Everyone was happy at first but them they started worrying. They wanted to know what happened to Tara.

He looked through a scroll and his careless expression turned into panic. He ran behind the stage.

"Did you hear what happened?!" He whispered. Cody nodded. "Oh this is terrible! How am I supposed to- to tell them?"

"We brought the pod, Nim," Cody replied. "Know what to do?"

"Yes, yes, I believe so." He went farther in and Ronin told Cody and Nod to stay outside and watch.

"You wanna do something fun?" Nod asked. Cody shook her head.

"Ronin told us to stay watch."

"Okay, how about I go and you stay watch?"

"You're my eyes, Nod. It's loud here. If I can't listen to anything, I can't see."

"Don't worry, it'll take just a few minutes, I promise!" Cody growled but nodded.

"Fine. Go on ahead to your girlfriend, I'll be here..." Nod didn't reply, meaning he'd gone to lead Katherine somewhere else.

Cody leaned against the wall with her sword in hand and sighed once more. Everyone was partying now. The pod was below. If Mandrake were to appear now, the pod would be in danger.

There were loud footsteps, meaning someone was behind her.

"Did someone leave you all alone?" A voice snickered. Her feet were kicked off the ground and she fell. "Such a shame. You don't know where i am now, do you?" _Mandrake... _

Cody stood up in a flash and had her swords out.

"Do you think you can beat me? Blind."

"I can try." Everyone fell silent as they watched in horror. Mandrake was there fighting Cody, the blind soldier.

"You're blind. You can't see anything, you won't know when to duck or when to jump or when to dodge."

"You're a strong man, Mandrake. The pressure you put on your weapon when you swing it is enough for me."

"So should I make this fight more complicated?" Cody shook her head and stood still to listen in. Mandrake hadn't moved. There was a small sound of which someone was right behind her.

"Behind you." Cody took out a dagger and stabbed the person. It was just another one of his soldiers. The soldier died there and fell to the ground below. "Oh, good one. You really are fast. And quite strong for such a little blind girl. Have you been through training? Was it hard?" Mandrake laughed as Cody growled at him.

"Shut up," Cody snapped.

"What would your father say now? If he saw you fighting Mandrake right now?" Cody froze. "Would he be proud of you? Or would he be angry for taking on an opponent not even he could defeat?"

"..."

"I got you there, brat."

Cody was picked up off the ground by the collar of the armor and the person threw her to the ground below.

There were screams. Everyone was panicking.

"Cody!"

"Ow, okay, yeah, the ground definitely hurts," Cody muttered getting up again. Mandrake picked Cody up and held a sword right above her heart.

"This is for Dagda," he hissed.

"Your son? I'm not Ronin's daughter, Mandrake."

"No, but he cares about you."

"You cared about Dagda. I understand that. But we got our revenge for you killing Tara. I understand he wasn't that old. Heck, you could barely call him a teen. But you killed Tara. She didn't reach the age limit yet. So there is no reason for you to be angry about us killing your son, if you're the one who took away my mother figure. You killed my parents. You took my eyesight. You killed Nod's parents and threatened to take over the forest and leave all these innocent people to suffer and die. And we killed your son. That's nothing compared to your crimes and threats."

"Big talker, aren't you?"

"Oh you have no idea. But if you want, kill me right here and now. I don't care. You've taken everything already, my life isn't worth two pieces of dirt."

"Sir, we got the pod."

"Good..." Mandrake removed the sword and smiled at the blind girl. Not a gentle smile, but a very... sadistic smile. "You got lucky... For now. By the time I return, you'll be dead."

"I look forward to that next time, you rotten pig," Cody retorted. Mandrake stopped walking and turned back.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry. I meant... A No Good-dirty-rotten-dirt-eating pig. Need any more?" Mandrake growled and wrapped both his claws around Cody's throat, choking her.

"You are one irritating little brat. Should I kill you right here?" Cody smirked despite the lack of air.

"Just go ahead and do it, wimp," she rasped out.

"Fine."

**Then it all fell silent...**

Cody woke up due to Ronin shaking her awake.

"The pod was taken, Cody. We gotta get it back."

"Right..." Cody muttered. She got up despite the headache and picked up the fallen swords.

"Are you sure you're good to walk?" Nod asked.

"He only suffocated me to knock me out. I'm okay..."

"This is your fault, Nod. I told you to keep watch!"

"Well there was Cody to-"

"You were her eyes, Nod! She couldn't see anything! She had no chance there!" Ronin snapped.

"It was my fault!" Katherine cut in, shutting them both up. "I asked Nod to take me outside."

"Katherine-"

"Don't bother. It's fine, I'm alive," Cody said. "I'm alive and that's all that matters. Let's get that pod back."

* * *

They went through the trouble of getting the armor to blend in and they were in.

The two slugs were trapped in a hole.

"We're gonna get you out, alright? Hand me the pod," Cody whispered. The slugs gave her the pod and she tied the pod around her waist. Then she threw two swords at the ceiling and nodded. "You two are gonna carry Katherine and Nod. I'll be fine here. Hurry up!" Cody went ahead and climbed up the edge. There was no one around. They were all focused on Ronin.

"Get the pod out of here! Hurry up and get it home!" Ronin yelled as Nod and Katherine caught up. There was nothing they could've done about it. The soldiers piled on top of him and Nod had to carry Cody to their bird and they were finally off.

"We left him..." Cody muttered.

"I know, I know. He'll make it out. Trust me." Nod smiled even though he knew Cody couldn't see it.

The trip back home was quiet. As soon as they landed, Cody ran to the pedestal where the pod was supposed to bloom and stood in the circle around it.

"The pod is safe!" Nim cheered. Everyone did the same. Cody smiled and kneeled to the ground, facing the pod.

They all believed they were safe. Until a bunch of bats crowded around the moon, soon blocking the light out of it. It was that moment when Mandrake attacked once again. He smiled as he saw the pod beginning to bloom in the darkness.

"I will take the prince now." Cody blocked his way.

"Not in a million years." There was someone else fighting alongside her.

"Cody, I'm your eyes. Duck!" Cody did just that. Along the battle, she listened to the speaker. She didn't recognize the voice. Then something hit the back of her head and she fell back-flat on the ground.

"Cody!" A dagger plunged deep in the area above her heart, just an inch away from stabbing it. It kept her alive, but she could no longer hear anything, nor could she feel anything. It was all silent. Again...

Nod kneeled next to the bed and folded his fingers together to pray to any god up there to save Cody.

He wanted to see her running around again. To see her run into a tree and laugh off the pain and throw more daggers at him when he steps on a stick out in the woods. But no... Cody was on the bed, breathing completely normal but not awake.

"Cody. Please wake up. You can't do this to us, please you can't do this to us."

"Nod?" The new queen bowed and gave a sad smile.

"I-is she gonna be okay? Please tell me-"

"We've done everything we could. We've looked into everything, there is nothing we can do. Cody will not wake up." His hope-filled expression had gone. "We'll try to keep her heart stable until it has the will to actually let her awaken."

"But-" The girl smiled a genuine smile.

"She _will _live. Trust me, we'll keep her heart stable until she's healthy and then she'll wake up." Nod hugged the little girl and left. Little did he know, the minute he stepped out the door and was out of ear-shot, there was a small

_**beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.**_


End file.
